Almost 5 month old belly sleeping?

My 19 week old son (so almost 5 months) has always been content so sleep on his back, where I put him. Tonight however I put him in bed, and when I came back to check on him a few minutes later he was on his belly. I turned him back over because it makes me nervous to have him belly sleep, go out, check on him in another few minutes, and he's halfway rolled over again.

Is it okay to let him sleep on his belly if he does it again? He can roll very well from back to belly, was good at rolling belly to back but has decided he doesn't like it anymore. Will he suffocate if he gets on his belly?

Another reason they want them to sleep on their back is because they fall into a deeper sleep on their bellys.. which is more likely for SIDS to occur.

That being said, my son slept on his belly from like a month old...
Do what YOU feel comfortable with.

If he does it himself it is fine. Just continue to put him down on his back and just let him sleep how he feels. If he can roll, he can control his head and you don't have to worry about him suffocating. Just make sure the crib is clear of blankets and stuffed animals.

As long as he can roll over by himself, it's fine. I was nervous at first too. My son's a stomach sleeper just like SO and I. Just make sure there's no blankets or anything else soft now that he's rolling over more.

ETA: Mine started doing it around 4 months and I just couldn't stop him no matter what.

Quoting White Chocolate Milk:" If he does it himself it is fine. Just continue to put him down on his back and just let him sleep how ... [snip!] ... his head and you don't have to worry about him suffocating. Just make sure the crib is clear of blankets and stuffed animals."

  & bumper pads..

As long as the mattress on the crib is the correct one you should be fine, babies tend to roll when they are ready it just depends on their own personal milestones when they can roll from back to belly and belly to back again they are fine to sleep on their belly. It is okay to be overly concerned, because you are his mother, but when he's rolling there really is no stopping him, he'll be fine.  

Ok thanks ladies! I know if he rolls while he is sleeping there isn't really anything I can do, I can't sit by his crib all night. I was just a little surprised because he has always been a back sleeper!

I have bumper pads on the crib because he got his legs/arms stuck a couple times one night and screamed. No blankets or anything in there!  

Quoting Saelym:" Ok thanks ladies! I know if he rolls while he is sleeping there isn't really anything I can do, I can't ... [snip!] ... pads on the crib because he got his legs/arms stuck a couple times one night and screamed. No blankets or anything in there!  "

They make the breathable bumpers. I saw them at Target and a few other places. I wanted to get a set of them but now LO used them to climb out lol

He has woken up twice now and cried because he was on his belly.. what do I do now lol? Just keep turning him back over till he falls into a deep enough sleep?

He'll get used to the idea soon enough. He's still very young and if he just started rolling fairly recently, it'll take him a little while to adjust to the new skill.